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The Art of Hosting for Libraries

Presentation for the 2018 Leading Edge Libraries Conference, hosted by the Florida-Caribbean Chapter of the Special Libraries Association. It introduces the Art of Hosting community of practice and shares a few examples of how libraries can host conversations.

The Art of Hosting for Libraries

1.
The Art of Hosting
for Libraries

2.
“Hosting” Conversations?
◎ “From Hero to Host” tells how
PeerSpirit’s circle practices in
Columbus, Ohio developed
into The Art of Hosting
community of practice.
◎ Shift in thinking: Leadership
through hosting, not through
heroism.
◎ Create an environment where
everyone has a voice at the
table and host in a way that
leads to fruitful conversation,
collaboration, and mutual
inspiration.

3.
“The Art of Hosting is like Linux, freely offering
its source code for leaders to achieve order
without control. Its code is a set of principles
and practices for how to host conversations
that matter: setting intention, creating
hospitable space, asking powerful questions,
surfacing collective intelligence, trusting
emergence, finding mates, harvesting
learning, and moving into wise action.
--Deborah Frieze, Walk Out Walk On

10.
What We Hoped to Achieve
◎ To build relationships with as many
stakeholder groups as possible: students,
faculty, staff, alumni/ae, patrons from
outside
◎ To understand their needs and expectations
of the library: space, collections, and services
◎ To invite library users into our evaluation and
planning process, fostering a sense of
investment in the library’s future
◎ To replace negativity with a more positive
approach that would drive change

11.
Appreciative Inquiry, Fall 2014
◎ Generated a powerful question: What Can
Schaff Library Give?
◎ Four conversation events with one-hour
format
◉ Discover: share a positive library
experience
◉ Review common themes that surface
◉ Dream: how can the strengths of the
library help us to improve?
◎ A lot of good ideas and suggestions surfaced
◉ Communication about library services and
events
◉ Space lends itself to community activities

14.
Window Art Conversation, Spring 2015
◎ Asynchronous yet wanting to engage
people in the library’s physical space:
writing on the windows
◎ Powerful question, this time not
specifically about the library: What do
you hope to see?
◎ Forum for response to the intense
issues students and the Seminary
community were facing at the end of
the Spring semester: final papers,
graduation, Baltimore, Supreme Court
deliberations

15.
Post-Election Circle, Fall 2016
◎ Library co-hosted with seminary’s
Diversity & Educational Life
Committee
◎ Opportunity for faculty, staff, and
students to come together after a
charged election season and dramatic
election day
◎ Offered opportunity for all voices to
be heard in a safe and non-
threatening space